Fresh News

September 2026: Two Years After Helene: From the Seed to the Table

MANNA’s drive-through food distribution at WNC Farmers Market post-Helene

“There was water above my head — right where we are standing now,” said Anna Littman, standing in the same field on Ivy Creek Family Farm where her vegetables grow today. Two years ago, the creek beside her farm swelled into a raging river in less than an hour — one small piece of the storm that reshaped Western North Carolina overnight. “Our neighbors were all in need too. People were in shock.”

We won’t dwell on what Hurricane Helene took. You lived it, and so did we. Our own warehouse off the Swannanoa River was destroyed in the flood, leaving MANNA the first food bank in Feeding America’s history to experience a total operational loss. We went through it with you, and together as a community, we never stopped getting food to our neighbors in those first chaotic days.

What we want to mark this week, two years later, is what’s grown since: a network of neighbors, farmers, and partner agencies who turned a disaster into the foundation for something stronger.

Anna Littman, Owner and Director at Ivy Creek Family Farm — Essential Foods Partner of MANNA FoodBank

Bonnie Clark, Executive Director of Feeding Avery Families, has watched that shift up close. Before the storm, her pantry served 500 to 600 families a month. Today, that number is nearing 900 — a sign not just of ongoing need, but of a community that finally feels safe enough to ask for help.

“None of us are immune from needing help,” Bonnie said. “It’s one job lost, one accident, one injury — and you might find yourself out of money to buy groceries that month.”

That belief is why Feeding Avery Families has grown its mobile distribution routes, added a refrigerated truck, and has increased home deliveries to reach neighbors who can’t come to them.

Bonnie Clark, Executive Director of Feeding Avery Families

That same spirit of rebuilding forward lives on Anna Littman’s farm. Ivy Creek Family Farm lost nearly everything in the flood — crops, tools, an entire barn. But through MANNA’s Essential Foods program, Anna found the confidence to reinvest. Today, her tomatoes, radishes, kale, and other produce travel from her fields to a food pantry shelf just down the road from her operations.

“It doesn’t start with the empty plate,” Anna said. “It starts with the seed that gets planted. That’s when real change happens.”

That is the story of these two years: not just recovery, but transformation. Partner agencies like Feeding Avery Families meeting more neighbors with more dignity than ever. Farmers like Anna building a food system that’s more local, more resilient, and more connected than it was before the storm. And MANNA itself rebuilding too — upfitting our new home in Mills River so that we can keep standing alongside the people and partners who make this region what it is for decades to come.

Helene will always be part of our story. But thanks to incredible partners like Bonnie and Anna — and supporters like you — it’s becoming a story of what we build next.

Make Your Mark

There’s Still Time to Make Your Mark on MANNA. Personalize an engraved paver and become a permanent part of MANNA’s new home in Mills River. As our new facility takes shape, we invite you to be part of the path forward.

A portion of the proceeds will help MANNA provide food and support to families and individuals across our region as we work together toward a future where everyone has enough to eat.

Add your family’s name. Honor somebody who inspired you. Celebrate years of solidarity with your community. Mark the moment you chose to help build what comes next for MANNA and our neighbors across Western North Carolina.

Empty Bowls

We’re celebrating the return of MANNA’s annual Empty Bowls event and want you to be part of it! Our 24th Annual Empty Bowls will take place on Monday, October 19, from 10am – 5pm at the Mission/AB Tech Conference Center.

This year’s return is especially meaningful. It’s a joyful reminder of both Western North Carolina’s incredible resilience and how MANNA’s community of artists, culinary partners, volunteers, sponsors, and attendees can come together to care for our neighbors. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit mannafoodbank.org/empty-bowls

PGA Tour: MANNA on the Green

MANNA FoodBank was one of three WNC nonprofits selected as a ‘Charity of the Day’ at the PGA’s inaugural Biltmore Championship Asheville! This initiative raised over $190,000 to support food distribution across our region.

We’re grateful for the Biltmore Championship, The Cliffs, and Poppy Popcorn for presenting us with a joint donation during championship Sunday, and to WLOS and others for amplifying our participation at the tournament!

Mountain State Fair

MANNA collaborated with Ingles Markets and the Mountain State Fair in celebration of our annual food drive. For our We CAN Fight Hunger event, participating fairgoers donated 5 cans of food in exchange for admission to the NC Mountain State Fair.

This year, 21,971 pounds of food was raised – enough for 18,310 meals!

The food brought in through our drive will be distributed to neighbors in need across Western North Carolina.